The need for this project is to activate and engage industry in viable options towards climate resilience by 2030. This includes the need to demonstrate that immediate options exist and are viable and meaningful, while also gaining support for a clear plan to transform the industry and supply chain with support both internally and beyond the sector. The key needs are:
01 | Industry awareness of the problems and solutions around climate change and resilience is below where it needs to be ....The need for this project is to activate and engage industry in viable options towards climate resilience by 2030. This includes the need to demonstrate that immediate options exist and are viable and meaningful, while also gaining support for a clear plan to transform the industry and supply chain with support both internally and beyond the sector. The key needs are:
01 | Industry awareness of the problems and solutions around climate change and resilience is below where it needs to be to activate broad transformation. There is little action towards climate resilience (1 player) in comparison to other agricultural sectors.
02 | There will be increasing competition within the protein market to validate and promote sustainable practices and positive contributions to the environment/climate.
03 | Leaders and innovators in the industry are attempting to act in isolation with few resources to support industry and supply chain coordination and acceleration.
04 | Change around the edges that can be achieved by some stakeholders operating alone will not deliver the transformation at a scale or pace that is required to meet growing and broadly felt consumer expectations that indicate demonstrable action on climate change.
05 | There is a surplus of tools, resources and research around climate change and resilience, but to this point, little of that work has been translated into forms fishers find usable and valuable.
06 | There is a need to identify early adopters and innovators in the space to lead new ways operating into the future.
07 | There is an FRDC funded project to undertake a Lifecycle Assessment being concluded early November. This work has been preliminarily identified fuel, transport, and refrigeration as key challenges requiring new solutions/opportunities for industry.
08 | Propulsion and fuel have been identified as key challenges in wild catch fisheries achieving climate resilience and reducing carbon emissions, and will be the focus of this project. Objectives: 1. To understand challenges facing the commercial wild-harvest sector relating to a changing climate 2. To determine opportunities to respond to those challenges, and validate solutions 3. To engage with industry leaders and innovators to explore and validate viable, feasible and scalable options towards climate resilience 4. To demonstrate rapid and practical progress towards climate resilience and elements of SIA’s Our Pledge 5. To build partnerships and relationships with global leaders to enable advancement of prioritised solutions that will enable improved climate resilience Read moreRead less
Know & Show Your Carbon Footprint - Discovery Phase
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$35,000.00
Summary
This project will be an initial discovery phase to inform scoping of overall approach.
Deliverables include: Consultation across fishing and aquaculture stakeholders at least 38 key fishing and aquaculture stakeholders. • Identification of the functional and non-functional requirements to create K&S functionality for the included sectors. • Identification of the data and modelling requirements to create K&S module/functionality for the included sectors. • Assessment ....This project will be an initial discovery phase to inform scoping of overall approach.
Deliverables include: Consultation across fishing and aquaculture stakeholders at least 38 key fishing and aquaculture stakeholders. • Identification of the functional and non-functional requirements to create K&S functionality for the included sectors. • Identification of the data and modelling requirements to create K&S module/functionality for the included sectors. • Assessment of any current solutions/calculators provided relative to the market requirement. • Evaluate current reference and benchmarking data versus what is required to support accurate, automated carbon accounting, and, ultimately inform decision-making that enables productivity whilst reducing carbon emissions. • Understand the gap between knowing your carbon footprint and being able to make informed decisions that lead to reductions in emissions. • Identification of the data and modelling requirements to create a module and/or functionality for the included sectors. • Identification of the missing calculators, features, functionality and underlying data and research required to enable all sectors to participate and benefit from the platform. • Documented solution design for creation of functionality identified during discovery for addition to the core infrastructure. • Report detailing the results of the carbon footprint calculation drivers / needs / existing knowledge, tools & data, gap analysis, and solution design. This will inform the Contributor and AIA in respect of further investment in the K&S solution.
Objectives: 1. Complete discovery phase to inform scoping of 'Know & Show', for consideration Read moreRead less
Aquafin CRC - Atlantic Salmon Aquaculture Subprogram: Environmental Control Of Growth And Early Maturation In Salmonids
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$333,571.00
Summary
1. To accurately predict maturation rates and optimize photoperiod regimes to prevent early maturation.
Ambient environmental conditions mean that the Tasmanian salmon industry will always suffer from high maturation rates due to its high water temperatures and increased light intensity. Additional artificial lighting in Tasmania has been shown to reduce maturation by up to 30%; increase growth rates significantly; and delay maturation by 8 weeks (Porter et al., unpublished). While thes ....1. To accurately predict maturation rates and optimize photoperiod regimes to prevent early maturation.
Ambient environmental conditions mean that the Tasmanian salmon industry will always suffer from high maturation rates due to its high water temperatures and increased light intensity. Additional artificial lighting in Tasmania has been shown to reduce maturation by up to 30%; increase growth rates significantly; and delay maturation by 8 weeks (Porter et al., unpublished). While these strategies have improved seasonal production and have been estimated to be worth $8-16 million per year (TSGA report), seasonal fluctuations in environmental conditions and fish stocks still produce variability within their effectiveness. Trials to date have highlighted the need for increased light intensities both between sites and seasons depending on the results required. Therefore further work into the use of increased light intensity and plasma melatonin production is required.
2. To better understand the timing of oocyte maturation in relation to varied environmental conditions.
a) The development of oocytes within the gonads needs to be initiated well in advance of the fish spawning. At present it is unknown precisely when this occurs and what physiological parameters are required to allow maturation to proceed. The timing of this “gating” period will be determined as this is undoubtedly the most effective time with which to apply environmental manipulations to inhibit the maturation process to continue. The “gating mechanisms” i.e. size and energetic status will be investigated to more accurately determine the timing and duration of the application of artificial lights.
b) One hormonal candidate for the transduction of information between growth and reproductive processes is insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). The majority of research has investigated the interactions between the GH/IGF system and maturation during the latter stages of oocyte maturation i.e. secondary oocyte growth and development. Consequently there is a paucity of information on the impact of IGF-I on the initiation of oocyte maturation and primary oocyte growth and development. Determining the role of IGF-I at this stage would assist in our understanding of the interaction between growth and reproductive processes, and thus provide additional tools to control the timing of maturation in commercial operations. Objectives: 1. To reduce early maturation and increase growth rates using artificial photoperiod 2. To better understand the physiological and environmental mechanisms controlling sexual development in Atlantic salmon 3. To accurately determine the intensity and duration of light required to alter growth and reproductive processes in teleost fish 4. To assess the effects of seasonal variation on growth and reproduction and be able to adjust photoperiod manipulations accordingly to reduce the variability of results. 5. To develop and introduce the transfer of technology from the Tasmanian salmon industry to other sectors of South Australian aquaculture. Read moreRead less
Blue Carbon And The Australian Seafood Industry: Workshop
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$50,803.00
Summary
The Australian seafood industry aspires to continue improving its sustainability in many areas, including reducing its carbon emissions and ultimately achieving carbon neutrality. The 2017 National Seafood Industry Leaders called for the industry to strive to become carbon neutral by 2030. There are many aspects to this, such as improving fuel efficiency and evaluating land transport options, but some emissions are inevitable. To offset these emissions, the seafood industry might choose to inves ....The Australian seafood industry aspires to continue improving its sustainability in many areas, including reducing its carbon emissions and ultimately achieving carbon neutrality. The 2017 National Seafood Industry Leaders called for the industry to strive to become carbon neutral by 2030. There are many aspects to this, such as improving fuel efficiency and evaluating land transport options, but some emissions are inevitable. To offset these emissions, the seafood industry might choose to investigate carbon markets. Investments in blue carbon could also provide added value to the industry, say, through better fish nurseries, or through the social benefits of being seen to proactively nurture the ecosystems that support them. However, the mechanisms to allow the seafood industry to pursue this are poorly developed. Impediments include the paucity of blue carbon opportunities in existing regulatory markets, and uncertainty about the most appropriate financial mechanisms for blue carbon investment.
The industry would benefit from a clear guide that outlines the current (and likely future) opportunities, the risks, a realistic assessment of the benefits, and a set of options for potential investors to pursue. To facilitate this, we will hold a meeting of key seafood industry stakeholders: at this workshop we will inform stakeholders about the current state of knowledge and opportunities, ask the extent to which the industry aspires to be carbon neutral, and whether blue carbon investments are perceived to be relevant. We will identify the major impediments to the industry achieving its desired goals, and plan concrete actions that can be taken to achieve them. These will be compiled into a plan to inform the FRDC on what actions to invest in, and how much investment would be needed.
Objectives: 1. Inform and understand aspirations of the Australian seafood industry with respect to carbon neutrality 2. Map the aspirations against current opportunities in Australia and overseas 3. Identify actions that can be taken by the seafood industry and the FRDC that will help move the industry towards meeting aspirations 4. Synthesise 1-3 into a plan that also identifies enablers and constraints that the industry needs to be aware of, and develop recommendations about the best steps Read moreRead less
Travel Bursary: Symposium On Responsible Fishing Technology For Healthy Ecosystems And Clean Environment
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$6,500.00
Summary
Attendance to Symposium on Responsible Fishing Technology for Healthy Ecosystems and Clean Environment Objectives: 1. Attendance at Symposium onResponsible Fishing Technology for Healthy Ecosystems and CleanEnvironment
FRDC-DCCEE: Human Adaptation Options To Increase Resilience Of Conservation-dependent Seabirds And Marine Mammals Impacted By Climate Change
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$300,000.00
Summary
Climate change is already impacting species from a range of trophic levels around Australia. In recent years, shifts in species distribution have been documented at a range of lower trophic levels in Australia (Hobday et al 2007), including phytoplankton (Thompson et al 2009), intertidal invertebrates (Pitt et al 2010), and coastal fish (Last et al 2010), and are now underpinning management responses. However, for Australia’s iconic higher trophic level conservation-dependent marine taxa, such a ....Climate change is already impacting species from a range of trophic levels around Australia. In recent years, shifts in species distribution have been documented at a range of lower trophic levels in Australia (Hobday et al 2007), including phytoplankton (Thompson et al 2009), intertidal invertebrates (Pitt et al 2010), and coastal fish (Last et al 2010), and are now underpinning management responses. However, for Australia’s iconic higher trophic level conservation-dependent marine taxa, such as seabirds (and shorebirds) and marine mammals, there is a knowledge gap regarding responses to climate variability and change. These species are protected throughout Australia and in some cases are recovering from previous anthropogenic impacts. Resolution of climate change impacts from other anthropogenic threats is needed for these species, in order to implement appropriate and timely adaptive management responses. Unfortunately, for most species, evidence of responses to environmental variability and the functional processes driving these affects is limited (but see References in Attachment 1). This is seen by managers as a major impediment to ongoing conservation management and planning in the face of climate variability and change. In addition, monitoring approaches for some of these species may also need to be reassessed and modified in order to better detect the impacts of climate change. Efficient ongoing monitoring is also required to allow adaptation responses to be validated. Results from this proposal will support adaptation by researchers undertaking the monitoring and adaptation by managers. Furthermore, options for enhancing the adaptive capacity of species impacted by climate change will fostered as a result of this project. (References provided in Attachment 1). Objectives: 1. Connect researchers, managers and policy makers, to focus on climate-ready monitoring and adaptation options for conservation-dependent seabirds and marine mammals. 2. Link ongoing monitoring programs around Australia for seabirds and marine mammals with relevant wildlife and conservation management agencies. 3. Extract climate signals for selected time series around Australia using cutting-edge statistical approaches. 4. Develop protocols for monitoring impacts of environmental variation on indicator species and develop an indicator suite of spatial and temporal metrics for climate change impacts. 5. Combine the indicator metrics to develop multi-species productivity indicators for Australian regions. 6. Provide practical adaptation guidelines for science and management, including on-ground monitoring protocols Read moreRead less
Climate is variable. Primary producers deal with this variability on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. However, there is strong evidence that shows that there is fundamental shift in the variability of the earth’s climate. Significant climate change is not a new concept for the earth – there have been many instances over time of significant change. What is different about the current change is it is well above the upper limits of the historical changes. This change is attributed to ....Climate is variable. Primary producers deal with this variability on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. However, there is strong evidence that shows that there is fundamental shift in the variability of the earth’s climate. Significant climate change is not a new concept for the earth – there have been many instances over time of significant change. What is different about the current change is it is well above the upper limits of the historical changes. This change is attributed to human activity in the form of greenhouse gas emissions.
The two options available to address the affects of climate change are adaptation and mitigation. While fisheries make only a minimal direct contribution to greenhouse gas emissions relative to other sectors, if carbon credits are built into energy usage, energy costs will significantly increase. Therefore, for mitigation, there will be an increased focus on alternative fuels and energy efficiency. This aside, the main focus for Australian fisheries will be adaptation to the possible impacts rather than on mitigation. The problem will be ensuring each of the fisheries sectors are economically and ecologically viable while adapting to the long term effects of climate change on the marine ecosystems that support them.
Given our knowledge gaps on the nature of the impacts of climate change on Australian fisheries, climate change needs to be considered in the context that it is just one business risk. As such climate change needs to begin to be factored into business planning along with other risks, such as competition, skills availability, currency fluctuations etc. This is certainly true within the framework of ecosystem based fisheries management (EBFM), where climate is just one of the variables considered.
The questions for Government are: • Where should it invest its resources to assist the fishing industry adapt to climate change? • What policy changes are needed to support this adaptation? • How to develop a predictive capacity to inform decision making?
Obviously, the decisions of individuals are beyond the control of Government. However, governments can provide the business environment through appropriate policy settings such that those involved in fishing can make decisions about future adaptation strategies. And this is where R&D is important. Industry needs knowledge so it can make informed decisions on the risks that climate change poses to business/lifestyle/culture and adjust accordingly. Scientists, economists and policy makers advise that early adaptation will reduce the cost to industry and Government in the long term. Further, for some sectors, delays in adapting may result in those industries no longer having a sustainable resource base.
Governments will need to put in place an R&D and policy framework to support adaptation to climate change within fisheries. In the current absence of a specific climate change policy for fisheries there is an opportunity for R&D to get ahead of policy and perhaps inform it. However, in the first instance there is a need to determine current relevant R&D activities and available information and what the research needs and gaps are.
This last point is the objective of the status report – where is fisheries climate change R&D now and where does it need to be? Objectives: 1. Status Report that informs Government on the requirements and the gaps of fisheries R&D with respect to climate change. Read moreRead less
FRDC-DCCEE: Vulnerability Of An Iconic Australian Finfish (barramundi, Lates Calcarifer) And Related Industries To Altered Climate Across Tropical Australia
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$521,000.97
Summary
Barramundi-associated industries are integral to the socio-economic health of tropical communities. This species supports a strong commercial and aquaculture fishery (~$80 million) and has high societal value being the major recreationally targeted fish in tropical waters (valued at ~$50 million) and is intrinsically important to indigenous culture. In QLD, barramundi is the fastest growing aquaculture sector (~ 21% p.a).
For barramundi there is a need to understand future climate patt ....Barramundi-associated industries are integral to the socio-economic health of tropical communities. This species supports a strong commercial and aquaculture fishery (~$80 million) and has high societal value being the major recreationally targeted fish in tropical waters (valued at ~$50 million) and is intrinsically important to indigenous culture. In QLD, barramundi is the fastest growing aquaculture sector (~ 21% p.a).
For barramundi there is a need to understand future climate patterns, their impact on distribution, carrying capacities and local abundances within the commercial/recreational fisheries, as well as the threats and opportunities for aquaculture. Current climate-orientated models are restricted to the QLD wild fishery and these predictions need to be extended to NT and WA, and the aquaculture landscape. In QLD, catch rates are linked to climate variability (Balston 2009a, 2009b) and the abundance/connectivity of climate sensitive wetland/mangrove habitats (Meynecke et al 2008). Pond-based aquaculture often already experiences summer water temperatures above those for optimum growth. However, no estimates on climate induced vulnerability of the whole fishery, or on current land and sea-based aquaculture (geophysical, physiological and nutritional impacts), are available, and the capacity for the aquaculture industry to selectively breed for tolerance to altered temperature regimes is unknown. These needs strongly align with those identified in the Marine Biodiversity Adaptation Plan as highest priority for the various sectors. The proposed R&D has strong stakeholder support from commercial, recreational and aquaculture stakeholders, as well as serving as a model for understanding altered climatic regimes in other tropical in-shore finfish. Objectives: 1. Define current thermal tolerances and associated physiological/energetic consequences of thermal adaptation in genetically divergent barramundi stocks across tropical Australia. 2. Develop predictive models incorporating new physiological and genetic data with available population genetic, environmental and fisheries data to identify vulnerable wild stocks and associated stakeholders under realistic climate change predictions. Opportunities for expansion of fisheries and aquaculture will be determined. 3. Establish genetic basis of thermal tolerance differences through identification of candidate thermal tolerance related genes within functionally/genetically divergent stocks. These candidate genes can be used as biomarkers for the aquaculture industry in the identification of fish with genetic tolerance to thermal stress. 4. Quantify parasite impacts on sea-cage barramundi under different temperature, pH and salinity and develop adaptive management strategies to minimize impacts under altered climate change scenarios. Read moreRead less
Atlantic Salmon Aquaculture Subprogram: Oxygen Regulation In Tasmanian Atlantic Salmon
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$142,129.00
Summary
Our recent research has confirmed that, contrary to conventional wisdom, some salmon appear able to regulate their metabolism in response to increasing hypoxia. This unexpected characteristic has the potential to contribute significantly to survival during critical environmental events (e.g. hypoxia) experienced during culture. Furthermore, the observation of individual variation raises the possibility of being able to select for the characteristic. However, before this can be done key questions ....Our recent research has confirmed that, contrary to conventional wisdom, some salmon appear able to regulate their metabolism in response to increasing hypoxia. This unexpected characteristic has the potential to contribute significantly to survival during critical environmental events (e.g. hypoxia) experienced during culture. Furthermore, the observation of individual variation raises the possibility of being able to select for the characteristic. However, before this can be done key questions around the phenotypic expression of regulation need to be addressed: is the ability to regulate innate or does exposure to one or more hypoxic episodes cause salmon to express the ability to regulate? This research will first provide baseline data on the proportion of salmon from different and unrelated families (family information and fish will be provided by SALTAS) that regulate and then investigate the effect of the transfer to seawater, fish size, stage, and environmental history on this ability. Ultimately the research will contribute to determining which phenotypic characteristics have a genetic basis and would therefore be valuable in selecting for a more robust salmon.
This research is strongly aligned with the Fisheries Research and Development Corporations R&D Plan for 2005-2010 and the strategic challenge of Natural Resource Sustainability. It directly addresses the challenge for the Tasmanian salmon industry to manage the effects of a changing climate through understanding how environmental variables affect the physiology of salmon and what level of phenotypic variation exists in the population. In the “Tasmanian Fisheries and Aquaculture Research and Development Strategic Plan 2005-2008” the relevant research and development priorities are “climate variability” and “genetic improvement”. This research directly addresses climate variability with the affects of hypoxia on salmon physiology and genetic improvement by testing fish from different and unrelated families to determine if oxygen regulation is an innate or learned response to a variable climate. Objectives: 1. Determine the proportion of selected families that are oxygen regulators during seawater transfer (Experiments 1, 2 and 5) 2. Provide an industry definition of a hypoxic event and link to management practice (Experiments 4 and 6) 3. Determine the physiological effects of a routine hypoxic event and if it differs between families (Experiment 3) 4. Determine if the ability to regulate is affected by swimming and if it differs between families (Experiment 7) Read moreRead less
Revisiting Biological Parameters And Information Used In The Assessment Of Commonwealth Fisheries: A Reality Check And Work Plan For Future Proofing
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$189,065.00
Summary
Much effort has been placed over the last couple of decades on the development of harvest strategies, stock assessments, risk assessments and the strategic use of ecosystem models to facilitate meeting the needs of the Commonwealth’s Harvest Strategy Policy. A focus on modelling to improve fisheries management has required effort towards method development. However, little effort has been made towards revisiting and updating the biological parameters that fundamentally underpin such modelling (e ....Much effort has been placed over the last couple of decades on the development of harvest strategies, stock assessments, risk assessments and the strategic use of ecosystem models to facilitate meeting the needs of the Commonwealth’s Harvest Strategy Policy. A focus on modelling to improve fisheries management has required effort towards method development. However, little effort has been made towards revisiting and updating the biological parameters that fundamentally underpin such modelling (e.g. growth rates, age and size at maturity, natural mortality rates, dietary information, mixing rates and stock structure) and the tools or methods used to derive them. As a result, most models now rely on parameters and community dietary data derived from information collected during the 1970s-1990s, (e.g. available maturity ogives for blue-eye trevalla are over 20 years old), or information that is borrowed from other regions or species. Whether such old or borrowed values are now representative for commercial Australian fish species is unknown but many factors point to major changes occurring in our marine environment. Australian waters in the south east and south west are climate hotspots and, overall, Australian waters have warmed faster than the global average. Key components of the productivity of marine fish (growth, maturity, and recruitment) are expected to be undergoing directional changes under a changing climate and it is entirely possible that there have been changes in fundamental productivity parameters for some Australian stocks. The reliance of current assessments on what is likely to be out-of-date information leads to increased uncertainty, which propagates into management decisions. Without an understanding of any changes in biological parameters and how any change might impact assessment frameworks, determining whether current management measures are ensuring sustainability becomes highly uncertain. Objectives: 1. Identify the origin of current biological information used in assessments of species (including empirical stock assessments and ecosystem modelling efforts) carried out under the Commonwealth Harvest Strategy Policy, including the pedigree of the information (provenance, age, appropriateness of methods used). 2. Assess the implications and risks associated with using dated and borrowed information in assessments currently used for informing fisheries management, including the scale of any risks and the species for which a change in biological parameters used in assessments has the greatest impact. 3. Identify the methods that might be applied to update priority biological parameters, including a review of the efficacy and applicability of novel methods and approaches developed in recent years. 4. Articulate a work plan including appropriate sampling regimes required for updating priority biological parameters used in assessments for those species identified as being at most at risk. Read moreRead less